I got this off KTHV.com, our CBS affiliate's website.
Country
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A Pulaski County circuit judge overruled a mom's decision and granted doctors at Arkansas Children's Hospital permission to give her child a blood transfusion.
Stephanie Thomas' daughter, Jada, has a congenital heart defect and needs surgery. Without the blood transfusion, doctors say she could die. The problem is, the child's mom, Stephanie Thomas says it's against her religion as a Jehovah's Witness.
In cases like these, the hospital's bio-ethics committee steps in to advise. According to the committee, parents always have the final say-so when it comes to medical treatment, unless they think the child?s health could be in danger.
?The hospital and this is supported by the courts, which has the right to assume the responsibility of making those decisions if they can convince the courts that the parents decision could be harmful to the child,? Dr. J. Gary Wheeler says.
Wheeler is a pediatrician for Arkansas Children's Hospital and UAMS and is part of the committee. He says these cases happen more often than you think, and many times it's a situation where the parents take the choice out of their own hands, thus leaving it up to the courts to decide.
Wheeler continues, ?One of the obligations for the parent is to try and do the right thing. If the decisions is taken out of their hands, they're usually able to live with that and not alienated from their community, from their religious community."
Wheeler says it is state law that requires doctors to provide treatment in an emergency situation.
According to the Watchtower Web site, which touts itself as the official site of Jehovah's Witnesses, "Taking blood into body through mouth or veins violates God's laws."